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I found this on the YorkDrama site. It is so very true. Except for the shower thing. We were spoiled at Pond... but no more of that!
Survival guide for your year as a frosh
If only I'd known then the things I know now
By Sofi Papamarko
Special to the Star
So, you’re going away to university or college.
Three short years ago, I was in your position. I, to, was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed - and scared to death.
I know the questions that you are, or will soon be asking yourself: Will I ever be able to find my way around campus? Will I like my new city? What if I don’t make any friends? And who was the sadist that decided a single textbook should cost the equivalent of one of my summer paycheques?
Take a deep breath, kiddo. It’ll be okay. In order to help you out, an older-and-somewhat-wiser me has compiled a list of things I wish I had been told before embarking on my post-secondary adventure. I hope that you can benefit from my trials, errors and various discoveries.
# Don’t buy your textbooks before classes begin. You’ll wait in line at your campus bookstore forever, and in the mass chaos, you may actually end up buying stuff you don’t need.
# Even if it tastes like there’s no liquor in it, there SO is.
# You do not, as of yet, know what an all-nighter is. Staying up until 3 in the morning to write a five-pager due the next day? Not an all-nighter.
Staying up through the night writing a sociology dissertation, hopping around in the halls and chugging a wide variety of caffeinated beverages in order to stay awake and relatively alert, printing it all up frantically at 8:24 a.m., stapling it, running to class, trudging back to res afterward and passing out on your bed - that IS an all-nighter. Congratulations!
# GO! TO! CLASS! (Trust me on this one.)
# If you have to walk a long distance at night, take advantage of your campus Walk Home program. You may feel like a dolt doing it, but you’ll be a safe dolt. It’s what they’re there for.
# Although you want to fit in as much partying this year as possible, you don’t HAVE to go out ever time people ask you. It’s okay, and often necessary, to spend a Saturday night studying.
# For the most part, you will not meet many people in your first-year classes. It’s hard to get to know anyone in a lecture hall of 500 students. You’ll have far more luck meeting people at tutorials, or extra-curriculars. Clubs and sports and great for that. Join them.
# The weekend apparently beings on Thursday night now.
# Keep on top of your readings. Two hundred pages of dry readings spread out over two weeks is a lot easier on your eyes and brain than reading those same 200 pages the night before your mid-term.
# If you’re feeling unmotivated, haul yourself to the library. You’ll have no choice but to work, seeing as there’s little else to do there.
# Get to know your new city, and partake of its culture. Take in a play, go to an art gallery, see and band or comedy troupe perform. There’s a lot of great local talent that deserves an appreciative audience.
# Res too noisy? Library too stuffy? Head to a local café and nurse a latté whilst reading Kafka. Not only is it a great change of atmosphere, but you’ll also look all hip and intellectual.
# Instead of grabbing a chocolate bar when you get exam munchies, go for a piece of fruit or some light popcorn instead. Your body (and dental work) will thank you.
# Mom and Dad miss you. Call once in a while, okay?
# ICQ and MSN Messenger are ridiculously addictive. (Uh-oh.)
# Go to the gym as often as you can manage. Working out is a great way to de-stress, as well as procrastinate. Laugh in the face of the dreaded Frosh Fifteen!
# One rule about residence is that whenever you really, really want to watch something on TV, there are always people in the common room watching something that sucks.
This is especially true if you live in an all-girls residence, like I did. (Let me tell you, it was a special kind of pain.) Have any sisters or brothers at home? Well, now you’ll have 20 of them. Get ready for TV compromises and shower lineups.
# Start saving your loonies and quarters now if you want to keep yourself in clean laundry.
# No matter how well you and your roommate get along, there will be times when you get really tired of each other. (My roommate, who is still a great friend of mine, had a talent for singing off-key. But, to be fair, my running shoes reeked. It all evens out, really.)
# Engineering students are nearly as scary when they’re not painted weird colours and screaming at you.
# No matter how carefully you budget, you will end up spending much more than you had expected. You will have no idea where it went, and will have nothing to show for it.
# ALWAYS wear flipflops in the shower.
# You don’t need to limit yourself to campus. Most university cities are beautiful, historic and worthy of exploration. If you ever have spare time on your hands (cough), play tourist.
# Have respect for yourself and your body.
# You’ve probably already heard that your marks will drop. This is true. My first-year average dropped 17 per cent from my high school average. Ouch.
What makes this even more brutal is that you’ll never work harder for such low marks. You will invest blood, sweat and tears in what you think is a brilliant essay, and end up getting a really disappointing mark. Don’t get discouraged. Once you learn how to write university-calibre essays, your marks will steadily improve.
So there you have it. If you’d like, cut this out and save it for when you need it. Or send it to someone you know who is going into first year. Good luck, and enjoy! It’s all over before you know it.
Sofi Papamarko attends Queen’s University in Kingston, where she is studying English and drama.
Survival guide for your year as a frosh
If only I'd known then the things I know now
By Sofi Papamarko
Special to the Star
So, you’re going away to university or college.
Three short years ago, I was in your position. I, to, was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed - and scared to death.
I know the questions that you are, or will soon be asking yourself: Will I ever be able to find my way around campus? Will I like my new city? What if I don’t make any friends? And who was the sadist that decided a single textbook should cost the equivalent of one of my summer paycheques?
Take a deep breath, kiddo. It’ll be okay. In order to help you out, an older-and-somewhat-wiser me has compiled a list of things I wish I had been told before embarking on my post-secondary adventure. I hope that you can benefit from my trials, errors and various discoveries.
# Don’t buy your textbooks before classes begin. You’ll wait in line at your campus bookstore forever, and in the mass chaos, you may actually end up buying stuff you don’t need.
# Even if it tastes like there’s no liquor in it, there SO is.
# You do not, as of yet, know what an all-nighter is. Staying up until 3 in the morning to write a five-pager due the next day? Not an all-nighter.
Staying up through the night writing a sociology dissertation, hopping around in the halls and chugging a wide variety of caffeinated beverages in order to stay awake and relatively alert, printing it all up frantically at 8:24 a.m., stapling it, running to class, trudging back to res afterward and passing out on your bed - that IS an all-nighter. Congratulations!
# GO! TO! CLASS! (Trust me on this one.)
# If you have to walk a long distance at night, take advantage of your campus Walk Home program. You may feel like a dolt doing it, but you’ll be a safe dolt. It’s what they’re there for.
# Although you want to fit in as much partying this year as possible, you don’t HAVE to go out ever time people ask you. It’s okay, and often necessary, to spend a Saturday night studying.
# For the most part, you will not meet many people in your first-year classes. It’s hard to get to know anyone in a lecture hall of 500 students. You’ll have far more luck meeting people at tutorials, or extra-curriculars. Clubs and sports and great for that. Join them.
# The weekend apparently beings on Thursday night now.
# Keep on top of your readings. Two hundred pages of dry readings spread out over two weeks is a lot easier on your eyes and brain than reading those same 200 pages the night before your mid-term.
# If you’re feeling unmotivated, haul yourself to the library. You’ll have no choice but to work, seeing as there’s little else to do there.
# Get to know your new city, and partake of its culture. Take in a play, go to an art gallery, see and band or comedy troupe perform. There’s a lot of great local talent that deserves an appreciative audience.
# Res too noisy? Library too stuffy? Head to a local café and nurse a latté whilst reading Kafka. Not only is it a great change of atmosphere, but you’ll also look all hip and intellectual.
# Instead of grabbing a chocolate bar when you get exam munchies, go for a piece of fruit or some light popcorn instead. Your body (and dental work) will thank you.
# Mom and Dad miss you. Call once in a while, okay?
# ICQ and MSN Messenger are ridiculously addictive. (Uh-oh.)
# Go to the gym as often as you can manage. Working out is a great way to de-stress, as well as procrastinate. Laugh in the face of the dreaded Frosh Fifteen!
# One rule about residence is that whenever you really, really want to watch something on TV, there are always people in the common room watching something that sucks.
This is especially true if you live in an all-girls residence, like I did. (Let me tell you, it was a special kind of pain.) Have any sisters or brothers at home? Well, now you’ll have 20 of them. Get ready for TV compromises and shower lineups.
# Start saving your loonies and quarters now if you want to keep yourself in clean laundry.
# No matter how well you and your roommate get along, there will be times when you get really tired of each other. (My roommate, who is still a great friend of mine, had a talent for singing off-key. But, to be fair, my running shoes reeked. It all evens out, really.)
# Engineering students are nearly as scary when they’re not painted weird colours and screaming at you.
# No matter how carefully you budget, you will end up spending much more than you had expected. You will have no idea where it went, and will have nothing to show for it.
# ALWAYS wear flipflops in the shower.
# You don’t need to limit yourself to campus. Most university cities are beautiful, historic and worthy of exploration. If you ever have spare time on your hands (cough), play tourist.
# Have respect for yourself and your body.
# You’ve probably already heard that your marks will drop. This is true. My first-year average dropped 17 per cent from my high school average. Ouch.
What makes this even more brutal is that you’ll never work harder for such low marks. You will invest blood, sweat and tears in what you think is a brilliant essay, and end up getting a really disappointing mark. Don’t get discouraged. Once you learn how to write university-calibre essays, your marks will steadily improve.
So there you have it. If you’d like, cut this out and save it for when you need it. Or send it to someone you know who is going into first year. Good luck, and enjoy! It’s all over before you know it.
Sofi Papamarko attends Queen’s University in Kingston, where she is studying English and drama.